2002 F350 Radiator Questions

[mymileager]

So i bought the truck about a month and a half ago, after bringing it home i noticed that the radiator had a small crack in the lower left inner corner of it and it has some type of black compound over it I'm assuming some type of caulk or glue maybe even jb weld anyways its only covering the corner as a size of a half dollar or so, so i noticed it because it has a little bit of coolant moisture on the outside of it, but no leaks or sprays coming out of it. its been about 45 days the truck runs real cool no temp problems at all. Well my wife was driving the truck today when i got back home after work i noticed a very small puddle maybe the size of a hockey puck of coolant on the pavement. So i figure well i probably have less then a month or so before i have to replace the radiator before something crazy happens and i run up a crazy bill.

So i have been price shopping radiators and there running at $250 for a new one, dealership wants $350 but says only 2 hours of labor to do the job. Here's my questions

1. Do i want to run/ install a stock radiator or aftermarket? and if so which radiator is highly recommended? (brand, part number, location) I'm kind of not looking to ship one either i would rather buy locally
2. Is that radiator the largest i can get for the truck? or does size not matter?
3. I want to install the Ec1 coolant and since i am going to be replacing the radiator, what other steps do i need to take or so to change over the coolant?
4. Does that consist of buying more additional parts to change over? or should i be changing anything else out while i am doing this?
5. How would i flush my system out since its winter here in Michigan?
6. Should i just pay a shop to do this?
7. How many gallons of coolant does are system hold?

any and all help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance - Eric

[ttyR2]

Stock radiator has plenty of cooling capacity. Just make sure you get a clean one if you buy used.

[mymileager]

I'm not a fan of used parts always seems to end up more expense in the end

[jesilvas]

Originally Posted by mymileager

1. Do i want to run/ install a stock radiator or aftermarket? and if so which radiator is highly recommended? (brand, part number, location) I'm kind of not looking to ship one either i would rather buy locally Just stock. It works great.
2. Is that radiator the largest i can get for the truck? or does size not matter? If you're doing a lot of towing, an intercooler would help more than a radiator.
3. I want to install the Ec1 coolant and since i am going to be replacing the radiator, what other steps do i need to take or so to change over the coolant? A coolant filter is recommended, but not needed. There are many flushing write ups on here. Just find some. Basically you run distilled water through it basically until it comes out clear.
4. Does that consist of buying more additional parts to change over? or should i be changing anything else out while i am doing this? You could change the thermostat housing to the billet one by dieselsite. And the 203*F thermostat if you wanted. I like mine.
5. How would i flush my system out since its winter here in Michigan? As long as it's not sitting long enough to freeze, I don't see any problems.
6. Should i just pay a shop to do this? No.
7. How many gallons of coolant does are system hold? It holds 8 gals of 50/50 mix. BUT since you'll be flushing with distilled water, and you can't get all the water out of the block, cooler, lines, heater core, etc., you'll finish flushing, drain out what you can, add HALF the capacity in coolant, so 4 gals of CONCENTRATED ELC, and top off with water, yielding a 50/50 mix.

any and all help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance - Eric

Replied in red. Just search for some flushing procedures. You'll find a lot.
The ones for the 6.0 give you the basic idea, just minus all the chemicals.

[mymileager]

Hey thank you so much you have been really help full... I'll go pull a few flush threads and read up

[mymileager]

so what is a good company to get a good stock radiator from? or should i just buy from the dealership? also what is a inner cooler and what does it do?

I looked at the diesel site and i am going to order that 203* and a new housing

[jesilvas]

You might as well get the coolant filter, or build your own. Always a good idea.
An intercooler cools the compressed air coming out of the turbo.
The air gets pulled through the air filter, into the compressor. Because you have hot exhaust gasses going out the turbo, it gets hot and transfers heat into the incoming air. Also, physics says when you compress air (any fluid basically), it will heat up. So in order to keep exhaust temps low and, more importantly, increase the efficiency, the air is air to air cooled before entering the engine. Cooler air (again, basically any fluid) is more dense than the same volume at a higher temp.

[molokai]

2 hrs labor!!!!!!!!! i just changed mine yesterday and took me 45min but could do it in 15 the second time around.I would do it myself.

[mymileager]

really thats not to bad at all, did you do a complete flush and everything?

[molokai]

I will flush the system about 5 or 6 times with water to get all the old anti freeze out of the system then do it one time with distilled water. I have over 10 gal of Caterpiller ELEC and will use that afterwards.